SIA Flashback – Rare Pair: Twin 1948 Nash Convertibles

For those of you unfamiliar with Nash/AMC history, John Conde was a longtime PR man for the Kenosha-Detroit company, but just as significantly, he loved to chronicle old car history, and he was known to retrieve important memos and other documentation from Nash and AMC dumpsters – back in the days before commerical shredding services. Thus, he offers a number of particularly valuable insights in this story on early post-war Nashes from SIA #37, November-December 1976.

George Beckmannsays:

February 22, 2009 10:02 pm

I own several 1948 Nashes, (2) 4 door sedans and one convertble which is a basket case, plus several parts cars. We have obtained another rust free coupe body from Colorado which we intend to rebuild the convertible with. A big project, however, my son operates a large body shop at Salt Point, NY. He does have the available manpower and the facilities to attempt such a restoration. In my youth I built the 57 Ford retractible convertible and the 58 Edsel at the Ford Mahwah plant. I’m a retired IBM engineer, now living in “The Villages” Florida. Been a Hemmings subscriber since 1960’s.

Don Hornersays:

April 27, 2009 10:31 pm

In 1958, I was a poor guy, just graduated from high school and headed to a vocational school to learn body/fender repair. I got a job for the summer at an auto parts store. I didn’t have enough money for a car. One of our customers had a car that was in the process of restoration. the paint had been stripped and the car was covered in surface rust; it had no seats or dashboard instruments; the engine was seized up; there were problems with the brakes — but it did have a new convertible top! I was offered the car for $20. It turned out to be a 1948 Nash convertible. With the help of the parts store machinist I rebuilt the engine, sanded and primed the body, installed seats and instruments from an Ambassador sedan and got it so it would provide transportation.

I had no idea it was rare. When the generator failed, I stopped at a Nash dealership to have it rewound. Nobody said anything at the time about a rare car.

I had to push start the car every time I drove it because the starter button (under the clutch) was rusted.

About 6 months later, working to repair the brakes, outside at a friend’s gas station, we were ready to bleed them. It started raining, so my friend offered to let me use the lift. Of course, the car had to be pushed or pulled to start it. He hooked up a tow strap and started to pull me through the station. For the first time, it failed to start. He reached the end of the gas station and stood on his brakes — of course, I had no brakes, and I plowed into the wooden rear bumper of his service truck.

The whole front end of the Nash was wrecked, the radiator was holed, the hood and fenders were buckled. I had no money to fix it. I called the junk yard and they gave my $28 cash for the scrap, and towed it away. I cried…

A few months later, I had a knock at my door. It was the owner of the Nash dealership were I had the generator repaired. He said that he had never previously seen a ’48 convertible, as they did not make enough of them for his dealership to get one. He offered my $1,000 cash in any condition. I said it was not at home, but I knew where it was. I rushed to the junk yard, only to find that they owner had just crushed all his pre-1950 Nashes to make room.

I’m 69 years old, now, and have been kicking myself in the butt every night for the past 51 years…